Martin O’Neill Celtic Future Update

Journalist Stephen McGowan believes Martin O’Neill may still have a role to play at Celtic beyond this season, even if the club appoint another manager in the summer.

The current interim boss remains fully focused on the title race, with Celtic still chasing Hearts at the top of the Premiership table, but discussion around the long-term structure at the club is already growing.

There is still no permanent manager in place for next season. Celtic also need to replace Paul Tisdale after his departure from the recruitment setup earlier in the campaign.

That uncertainty has created constant speculation around how the football department will look by the time pre-season begins.

McGowan now reports O’Neill is already involved in conversations around next season’s squad planning.

He said: (BBC Scottish Football Podcast), “I think Martin O’Neill has been involved, certainly, in talking to agents about players for next season, which raises the question whether he is going to be there in some capacity or not, even if it’s not as first team manager.

“So they’ve probably got, probably, an unprecedented rebuild coming up in the summer.

“They need a permanent appointment as manager, they need that head of recruitment role filled, that Paul Tisdale occupied previously.

“I was doing a calculation… it wouldn’t surprise me if they need something like 18 players going out the door if that is the case, and they might try and bring in a dozen or so to replace them!

“Because they probably are a bit top-heavy at the moment. So I think there’s going to be an awful lot of change at Celtic in the summer.

“I think they’re already resigned to the fact that there’s going to be a bit of restructuring in the football department going on, through necessity.

“The exact composition of that? You may as well just ask me to name six lottery numbers on Saturday, because the fact is that they’re keeping their cards pretty close to their chest.”

The numbers McGowan mentions sound dramatic at first, but when you break down the squad properly, the logic becomes clearer.

There are loan players unlikely to stay, fringe players barely involved, and others entering the final stages of their Celtic careers. Even without massive sales, the squad already feels overcrowded in certain positions.

That is partly why the next managerial appointment matters so much.

The new manager will not simply inherit a settled dressing room ready to challenge immediately. There are decisions needed across the pitch, especially in defence and midfield where Celtic have lacked consistency for large spells this season.

For now, O’Neill’s focus stays on trying to win the title.

But McGowan’s comments suggest the summer planning may already involve him more heavily than many supporters first thought.